20040337 Ver 2_DCM Comments_20151023

July 23, 2015
MEMORANDUM:
TO: Gregg Bodner
Fisheries Resource Specialist
DCM, Morehead City
FROM: Doug Huggett, NC DENR -DCM Major Permits Coordinator
400 Commerce Avenue, Morehead City, NC 28557 Fax: 252 - 247 -3330
(Courier 11- 12 -09)
SUBJECT: CAMA / Dredge & Fill Permit Application Review
Applicant: Waters Edge HOA
Project Location: at the southern terminus of Great Oaks Dr., adjacent to the AIWW, in Hampstead,
Pender County
Proposed Project: to dredge around two (2) existing docking facilites
Please indicate below your agency's position or viewpoint on the proposed project and
return this form to Douq Huggett at the address above by August 15, 2015. If you have any
questions regarding the proposed project, contact Jason Dail at (910)796 -7221 when appropriate,
in -depth comments with supporting data is requested.
REPLY: This agency has no objection to the project as proposed.
This agency has no comment on the proposed project.
This agency approves of the project only if the recommended changes
are incorporated. See attached.
This agency objects to the project for reasons described in the attached rpg
SIGNED DATE
N.C. Division of Coastal Management
127 Cardinal Drive Ext., Wilmington. NC 28405
Phone: [phone] FAX: [phone] Internet wwwmccoastalmanaciernent.net Ep
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North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Pat McCrory
Governor
MEMORANDUM:
TO: Doug Huggett, DCM Major Permit Coordinator
FROM: Gregg Bodnar, DCM Fisheries Resource Specialist
SUBJECT: Water's Edge HOA (Hampstead)
DATE: 8/20/2015
Donald R. van der Vaart
Secretary
A North Carolina Division of Coastal Management (DCM) Fisheries Resource Specialist has reviewed the
subject permit application for proposed actions that impact fish and fish habitats. The applicant
proposes to conduct new dredging around an existing boating facility. Waters are classified as
supporting shellfish (SA), Outstanding Resource Waters (ORW), Mill Creek (adjacent to site) is classified
as Secondary Nursery Area (SNA), and waters are open to the harvest of shellfish by the NC Division of
Marine Fisheries Shellfish Sanitation Section.
In 2004 a Major Modification was submitted to an existing Major Permit ( #68 -03) to construct an 18 slip
community dock, nine slips within Mill Creek and nine slips within the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
(AIWW). The permit was authorized. In 2008 a CAMA Major Permit application was submitted to
perform new dredging within the AIWW portion of the docking facility (slips 5 -9). DCM field staff noted
submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) within the dredge footprint. The application was circulated and
numerous agencies replied unfavorably due to the impacts to SAV and SAV habitat. Furthermore NC
Wildlife Resources Commission comments relating to the 2003 Environmental Assessment
recommended that no dredging be allowed based on SAV impacts. The application was withdrawn and
no further action was taken. In April and June 2015, DCM field staff and fisheries resource specialists
surveyed the area and documented SAV within the current dredge footprint. As designed, slips 1 -4 have
a 50ft. wide x 75ft. long x -4ft. depth footprint. Slips 5 -9 have a 50ft. wide x 100ft. long x -oft. depth
footprint. SAV, identified as mostly Z. marina (eel grass), has colonized the area and has shown to be
prevalent behind and within the dredge footprint. In June 2015, SAV coverage within slips 5, 6, 8, and 9
was 10 -40 %. In slip 7, SAV coverage was 40 -70 %. Landward of slips 5 -9 to the marsh also had 10 -40%
SAV coverage. The shallow embayment between the two piers has 10 -40% coverage and transitions to
algae and patchy SAV coverage at slips 1 -4. Dominate species of algae were identified in the field as
ulva, dictyota, and codium. Finfish utilize algal dominated areas in much the same way as SAV habitat,
with many finfish species utilizing both habitats.
North Carolina ranks second behind Florida in SAV presence. Observations since 2000 have indicated
that SAV coverage in North Carolina is expanding into previously unobserved areas. SAV is a vital
component to the estuarine system and is excellent nursery area for many fisheries species, supporting
high diversity of fish and invertebrates, and provides valuable ecosystem services as a primary producer
1601 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699 -1601
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and enhancer of water quality (Deaton et al. 2010). SAV filters water, stabilizes sediment (Fonseca
1996; Stephan and Bigford 1997), and provides refuge for juvenile finfish, crabs and shrimp ( Savino and
Stein 1989; Rooker et al. 1998). SAV supports a vast array of epiphytes and other sessile invertebrates
that serve as a food source for many fisheries species. Waters containing SAV have higher species
richness and abundance than those without SAV (Thayer et al. 1975, Ross and Stevens 1992), and can
improve water quality and clarity through the filtration of water by the associated epiphytic community.
SAV is recognized as essential fish habitat due to its primary production, structural complexity,
modification of energy regimes, sediment and shoreline stabilization, and nutrient cycling (Deaton et al.
2010).
The proposed application intends to perform new dredging in and around the existing slips within the
AIWW docking facility (slips 1 -9). DCM field staff and fisheries resource specialists have observed SAV
resource within the dredge footprint as far back as the 2008 CAMA Major Permit application, which was
withdrawn due to the presence of SAV and unfavorable comments from multiple resource agencies.
The authorization of new dredging at the project site would directly and negatively impact the SAV
through direct removal of the resource and alteration of the habitat to discourage recolonization.
Therefore, I object to the project as proposed due to the significant and adverse impacts to the marine
and estuarine resource, principally SAV, at the project site.
Contact Gregg Bodnar at (252) 808 -2808 ext. 213 or gregg.bodnar @ncdenr.gov with further questions
or concerns.
Deaton, A.S., W.S. Chappell, K. Hart, J. O'Neal, B. Boutin. 2010. North Carolina Coastal Habitat Protection
Plan. North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Division of Marine
Fisheries, NC. 639 pp.
Fonseca, M. S. 1996. The role of seagrasses in nearshore sedimentary processes: a review. p. 261 -286 in
C. Roman and K. Nordstrom (eds). Estuarine Shores: Hydrological, Geomorphological and
Ecological Interactions. Blackwell, Boston, MA.
Rooker, J. R., G.J. Holt, and S.A. Holt. 1998. Vulnerability of newly settled red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus)
to predatory fish: is early -life survival enhanced by seagrass meadows? Marine Biology 131(1):
145 -151.
Ross, J. L. and T.M. Stevens. 1992. Life history and population dynamics of red drum (Sciaenops
ocellatus) in North Carolina waters. NC Division of Marine Fisheries, Morehead City, NC, Marine
Fisheries Research Completion Report Project F -29, 130p.
Savino, J. F. and R.A. Stein. 1989. Behavior of fish predators and their prey: habitat choice between open
water and dense vegetation. Environmental Biology of Fishes 24(4): 287 -293.
Stephan, C. D. and T.E. Bigford. 1997. Atlantic coastal submerged aquatic vegetation: a review of its
ecological role, anthropogenic impacts, state regulations, and value to Atlantic coastal fish
stocks. Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, 77p.
Thayer, G. W., S.M. Adams, and M.W. La Croix. 1975. Structural and functional aspects of a recently
established Zostera marina community. p. 518 -540 in L.E. Cronin (ed.). Estuarine Research.
Academic Press, New York, NY.